Han, I am so loving the Han and Chewie piece! Han's wearing the classic "Aw, ****, here we go" look, with his blaster hand covertly resting on his weapon, and Chewbacca's got his back, as always! The textures in Chewie's fur are superb (hair and fur are a real challenge for me...), and both their expressions are perfect! Kudos!

You better not stop making your own art just because you have all these moderating duties now. It would be a terrible loss.

Don't worry. I just haven't worked on anything lately because the past week was final week at school. I was busy putting finishing touches to my various portfolios for my classes.

But I'm done with school now so I'll be getting around to producing more drawings. I already have some ideas going through my mind - it's only a matter of getting the right look and putting it down on paper.

FalconFan: Thank you! After seeing your amazing work, hearing those kind comments from you is really a treat. I really appreciate it!

I'm very serious when I say how much I admire your work! I actually loved the quick sketches of Han and Luke from earlier in the thread--I think someone already commented on how, with very few lines and a beautiful economy, you captured their expressions and features so well. I'm really looking forward to seeing those finished--and everything else you're going to offer! Glad finals are over for the semester--now you can take a little breather!

FalconFan: Thank you so much again! I really take all of your comments to heart!

Okay, I finally got around to completing the first of the two drawings I posted earlier. I finished Luke just a few minutes ago and I may start on Han again tonight or he may wait till tomorrow. It all depends... Anyway, here it is. I'm gonna post the completed one and the work in progress for a comparison.

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/HSolo29/Fan%20Art/Luke-ROTJ1.jpg]
Work in Progress

Wow....just--wow... I can't get over the beautiful shading in your finished drawing: the facial skin, the hair, and in the eyes. Beautiful... How do you go about shading like that? I think you've mentioned before the "finger smudge," but this looks way too subtle and controlled to be just a finger (unless you have very tiny and very smooth fingers! )--and what sort of paper/surface do you use?
Sigh...just--wow.

To answer your questions - I use a combination of my finger, the pencil and an eraser. Real simple. The majority of the skin texture and shading is done with my finger. I then go over certain spots(the darker areas around the nose, the eyes, lips, jaw) with a pencil and just use that to shade. I just apply different pressures to it until I get the affect I'm going for. I use the same method with the pencil for the hair. After all that is complete, I use an eraser to go back over areas that got smudged and to apply highlights.

My use of paper is real simple as well. I do most of my drawings in just a regular strathmore sketchpad.

Gosh, HS29, you make it sound so simple and easy... But I know how much work it has to be, to achieve this level of realism and detail, and I so totally respect you for it! I'm going to have to try the "smudge and erase" technique sometime--it gives such a beautiful, realistic effect, almost like a photograph. Now let's see Han!!! (When you get a chance to get around to him, that is! )

Wow! That Skywalker drawing is truly a masterpiece. The facial shading captures Mark Hamill extraordinarily well, and the hair is incredibly detailed. He looks like he came straight from the silver screen. Bravo!

FalconFan: Thanks again! Yea, the things I use to do the drawing are fairly simple, but you're right - it takes a lot of time. I won't hide that fact. But in the end, it's all worth it and I love doing it. As for Han - I may have him posted later on tonight. I have to do some baking for Friday and Saturday(cookies! yea! ) and it all depends if I have time afterwards or not.

ConcordDawn: Thank you so much! Looking like he just popped out of the screen? Aww...I really appreciate that.

Just excellent. So glad you posted the finished version. One of my biggest problems is finding the discipline to finish stuff. Another one of my problems is knowing when to call it finished. My absolute biggest problem of all time is forgetting where I parked my car. That's not really art related though.

THEFORCE16: I actually did have some problems getting around to the finished drawing. I didn't really feel like going back to it, but I forced myself to do it and I'm glad I did. And I also agree with you about when to call a piece finished. It really is hard to make that decision and I usually ask around a bit to see what other people think before actually calling it quits.

Now, speaking about not finding your car...I had that happen to me tonight.

Got around to completing Han this afternoon. I'm not entirely happy with the way this one turned out. Something doesn't look quite right. *shrugs* Anyway, I'm gonna once again post the work in progress and the completed one.

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/HSolo29/Fan%20Art/Han-ROTJ1.jpg]
Work in Progress

Han, I just love the work--and the comparisons from partially finished to finished. Once again, fabulous, ultra-realistic shading and expression: I can just tell something's troubling Han in this one, and he's thinking hard about it. Beautiful job--and thank you for sharing the "before and after"--it's a great help for the rest of us as an example of what happens in the process! Bravo, once more! And a very Merry Christmas!

FalconFan: Wow, I wasn't really wasn't expecting all the positive feedback on that last one. Like I said, I'm not entirely happy with it. Something just bugs me about it that causes me not to be able to look at it sometimes. I'm not quite sure what it is though. Oh well, I'm glad you liked it and thanks again for all that positive feedback!

And Merry Christmas to everyone! I'm not sure if I'll have an update before Saturday(I highly doubt it), so I'm sending this out a little early.